


Of Midnight and Glass Roses

by Jem0402



Category: Sword Art Online (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Bisexual Kirigaya Kazuto | Kirito, Eugeo Lives (Sword Art Online), Eventual Romance, F/M, Fantasy, Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Slow Burn, Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-14
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-22 02:27:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30031605
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jem0402/pseuds/Jem0402
Summary: Hey everyone! Welcome to my first fanfic! I’m really proud of myself for getting this done and even more excited for you all to read it! This fanfic is based on the Sword Art Online series, specifically on the events of the SAO: Alicization arc. I decided to re-write the entire series. Yeah. Haha! I feel like there was a lot of potential that just got missed and some aspects that weren’t part of the original anime that could have made the story really great (not just talking about my ship lol) I mainly wanted to capture the characters’ development/relationships more and mainly take the time to fill in the blanks of Kirito and Eugeo’s journey to becoming Integrity Knights.  However, I have taken the liberty to change some parts of the original story to not only fit the changed relationships but also to express my own opinion of what I think should have happened/was happening in other arcs of SAO. Remember, this is all in good fun and also to keep me sane during these ‘trying times’ (You know what I’m talking about, check the date)  Hold on tight and get comfy, it’s going to be a long ride! Enjoy and thank you!
Relationships: Eugeo & Alice Zuberg | Alice Synthesis Thirty, Eugeo & Kirigaya Kazuto | Kirito & Alice Zuberg | Alice Synthesis Thirty, Eugeo/Kirigaya Kazuto | Kirito, Kirigaya Kazuto | Kirito/Yuuki Asuna | Asuna
Comments: 6
Kudos: 13





	Of Midnight and Glass Roses

Arc 1: Prologue

A turbulence of wind cascaded and whirled fiercely around the two young knights, swords held steadfastly overhead. With sharp determination, their eyes bore confidently into the fearful ones of the beautiful silver-haired women across the room. The Administrator, or to her subjects, Quinella, had never seen power such as this. Her many dives into the Cardinal System, not even the thousands of memories she had collected in her 300 years, had any counterattack, sacred art or evasive maneuver for the impressive display in front of her. This would be the death of her, of everything Quinella had worked for, all destroyed in a flash ice and noir.

And there wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it.

She was the Administrator! She should have all the power, not two peasant villagers from Stacia knows where! Yet, Quinella’s breath hitched in her throat and her eyes shook with both fear and fury. She had over a thousand Fluclight memories stored within her; her own Fluclight stores were filled to the brim with sacred arts, but each one was useless against… _whatever_ this new power was. These boys had forged it themselves, that was clear. They were not using any code known previously to the cardinal system. Quinella’s hands clenched into fist, realizing what this meant: they had beaten her by becoming administrators of their own.

The whole thing was laughable…almost.

If Quinella didn’t know she was about to die, she would’ve thought the smile gracing her lips was out of insanity. However, she knew it was because of the bitter irony, and, against her better judgement, she was also a bit impressed. Her quest for power was doomed to fail because she didn’t think to have cultivated it on her own, and these boys had stumbled upon that infinite knowledge seemingly on accident. The silver-haired queen lowered her defenses, still with the defeated smile smoothing out her already flawless features.

The raven-haired boy shot a signaling glance his flaxen-haired partner, letting him know that whatever was to happen, happens now. The sheer force of power emanating from the two knights began to build astronomically, honing in for one perfect strike.

And with that, Quinella knew it was over.

—————————————————————————————————————————

Arc 1: Part 1: Episode 1: The Journey

Midday heat beamed down on the grassy landscape; although the air was warm, the afternoon breeze was a welcomed presence. Emerald green hills stretched out for miles with snow-capped mountains framing the perimeter, making it feel as though someone had placed the landscape in a blue glass bowl.

Despite being in this foreign land, Kirito was ecstatic. Only a partially complete map, a knapsack full of provisions and camping supplies strung on his back, as well as a beautifully crafted jet black sword strapped to his hip, each step took him a little further away from the quaint town of Rulid. It filled him with anticipation, enveloping him in the familiar senses of an adventure being on the horizon.

Looking around, he had to admit that the Underworld, as Kirito had learned to call his current surroundings, had similarities to the open-world of Aincrad except without the obvious black castle floating in the sky. No, this place had a more…peaceful aura. Even though the raven-haired boy had no idea why or how he ended up here, Kirito somehow felt…safe. After being stranded in the death game SAO, Kirito rarely had this feeling. Even after the years reinitiating himself IRL, he still found that the certain clang of metal against metal during busy construction days in the city would jolt him into a fighting stance, or how an unexpected shout would send him into a panic thinking it ought to be a cry for help. Or when Asuna would be talking about their future together, and she would catch him zoning out about those who didn’t have this opportunity to plan _their_ futures, _their_ lives being ripped away from them for a mad man’s god complex and general amusement…

_Oh yeah_. Asuna.

She was out there without a clue as to what happened to him…Or did she? Kirito cursed his brain for still being fuzzy on how he arrived here, but something in his gut told him that Asuna _was_ worried. Yet, and maybe with a twinge of guilt, he suddenly realized that he wasn’t all that worried about getting home right away. The adventure that lay before him quelled any sense of danger that his real self could possibly be in. He felt almost giddy at the thought of exploring this new world stretched out before him. Sure, it would take time to truly get used to the mechanics, both socially and fighting style wise, but that just upped the excitement for Kirito even more.

_But I shouldn’t feel this way…Right?_ thought the black-haired boy, gazing in strained confusion at the ground. _Asuna is waiting for me. I should make finding my way home a priority…after figuring out how the hell I got here in the first place_. Thinking of Asuna, however, brought a familiar pang to Kirito’s gut. One he had been feeling a lot lately for the past year and a half, actually.

He and Asuna…well..they weren’t in a great spot. Kirito had noticed this soon after returning from Gun Gale Online (GGO) that their relationship seemed…off somehow. But it really worsened after Asuna’s memory loss incident with the Augma. After playing the ruse game, Ordinal Scale, invented by the grieving Professor Tetsuhiro Shigemura, Asuna nearly lost everything that made her who she was, including her love for Kirito.

_That part didn’t stick in the end_ _though, did it?_ Kirito surmised gloomily.

After that, Asuna wanted nothing to do with full dive gear, augmented reality, virtual reality, you name it. She had said that it was time to move on; their new lives together should have nothing to do with anything that wasn’t really in front of them. She wanted a normal life, one that didn’t put them into any danger of losing themselves or each other.

“There are already plenty of dangers in the real world,” she had said. “We shouldn’t keep testing our luck if we want to build something together.” However, Kirito felt that losing themselves was exactly what was happening. They _met_ in full dive for god’s (or here, Kirito reprimanded himself, _Stacia’s_ ) sake! They lived and breathed augmented reality and full-dive gaming. They had found themselves there, made a life together and fell in love. How Asuna could just throw all that away, he didn’t understand. It felt like she were throwing a part of themselves away.

A part of _him_.

Soon, their conversations became shorter and shorter, always ending with Asuna asking Kirito if something was wrong, and him not being able to answer except with a half-hearted, ‘It’s nothing.’ Then every interaction between them began to feel forced and wrong until eventually Asuna held off their wedding until they could figure out what to do. That’s what led to his partnership with Rath and…the rest is a blur.

Kirito let out the breath he didn’t know he had been holding. Well, there was no use dwelling on his failed engagement and memory loss now. He was here, in The Underworld, and Asuna was out there in the real world. The brooding would just have to wait.

His coal colored eyes drifted to the (slightly taller, Kirito noted) boy walking next to him.

_Eugeo._

With the content, yet determined smile on the flaxen haired boy’s face, Kirito couldn’t help but let the corners of his mouth rise as well. From the moment Kirito met Eugeo, he had been kind, caring, a little cautious but always a loyal friend. He had already grown so much from their first meeting in the woods, calling Kirito a… _What was it? A ‘lost child of Vecta?’_ Well, it provided a great cover for Kirito’s true origin, as well as for his memory loss. However, that didn’t stop Eugeo from of course trying to help in any way he could. He really was selfless person. But what really impressed Kirito was Eugeo’s new-found fighting spirit.

Kirito thought back to his and Eugeo’s struggle in the ice caves. He was still getting used to the mechanics of this world, realizing with a shudder that pain and injuries in this world were extremely realistic, right down to the recovery time it took to really get back all of their strength and health status up. The only reason they survived was because Eugeo found his inner strength to fight back for his friends. Their battle with the goblinsdefinitely proved to Kirito that Eugeo was meant for more than just chopping down a tree for all eternity. Although his movements were frantic and a bit heavy, Kirito recognized amazing potential within his friend. All in all, when their backs were up against the wall, Eugeo had chosen to fight, risking his life for that matter to save Kirito’s and Selka’s. After that, Eugeo had asked Kirito to train him in the art of becoming a swordsman, taking up his new calling with that mind. Now, they began their journey, with Kirito taking time to practice with Eugeo when they came up against lesser enemies along the way.

“Once we make it to Central City, we’ll already have some skills in our arsenal that way!” Kirito had said to Eugeo. “We’ll be made Integrity Knights before you know it!”

And so, they walked, their journey just beginning, but Kirito had a feeling that this was just as important as reaching the Central Cathedral. This world…it had the answers he needed and nothing was going to stop him from getting them.

“Kirito? What’s with that look on your face? You look as though you’ve just hatched some evil plot.” Kirito was snapped out of his thoughts by a gentle and slightly amused voice to his left. He looked over fully at his smiling friend and fixed his expression to that of the same.

“Oh! I guess you caught me zoning out,” Kirito scratched the back of his head sheepishly. “Sorry, I was just thinking about getting to Central City.” Eugeo scoffed, still with a playful air in his tone.

“Honestly, Kirito, you space out more than anyone I know! One day it’s going to get you into trouble, I swear…” Eugeo shook his head, wondering how in the world someone so laid back could get that good at sword fighting. Eugeo was more than excited to be able to learn from him, but habits like this made the boy think that it was an occasional fluke that Kirito was so skilled. He vaguely heard Kirito chuckle, as he often did when Eugeo was scolding his behavior. Suddenly an arm latched around Eugeo’s neck, making him stumble a forward a bit. Catching his footing, he looked up to face his assailant.

“Hey!-“ His voice hitched when seeing Kirito grinning not an inch from his face.

“Oh yeah? Who’s the one spacing out now? You gotta be prepared for the unexpected, Eugeo!” Kirito released his friend, not before ruffling his hair playfully and noting the slight shade of pink brushing across Eugeo’s nose. He wrote it off as embarrassment as it was definitely a common occurrence when Eugeo lost his quiet composure due to Kirito’s wild antics. He met Eugeo’s glare with a wide, mischievous grin, melting the irritation from the other boy’s face. _Victory!_ Kirito exclaimed in his head. He turned his gaze back towards the horizon and resumed their casual stride, both arms stretching behind his head now. “Besides, we’ve got tons of time to teach you what I know, and judging by how you fought in the ice caves, you’re a pretty fast learner.”

Eugeo perked up at the compliment. “Really? I just…I couldn’t let you or Selka get anymore hurt.” His face turned somber. “I won’t let that happen again, not when this time I can do something about it.”

Kirito nodded, matching his determination. “I know you won’t. Like I said, by the time we reach the capital, they’ll be begging to make us knights!” Eugeo had to laugh a little.

“You and your enthusiasm…” Eugeo’s face relaxed back into smile. Kirito was right; nothing would stop him from returning Alice home, safe and sound. And if becoming an Integrity Knight was the way to do so, he’d do it. He owed Alice that much; the thought of him just standing there, in that courtyard on what Eugeo nowrecalls as the worst day of his life, filled Eugeo with so much pain and regret. It would be different the next time he saw her, Eugeo was sure of it.

As they passed the time chatting and bantering back and forth, the boys had eventually found themselves steadily climbing upwards; mountainous terrain stretched out far in each direction, painting the landscape in rolling emerald hills and wide open expanses of cloudy blue. Eugeo shielded his eyes from the bright sun. Although it was midsummer, the air up here was surprisingly cool; he could thank the gentle breeze that periodically tousled his golden colored hair. Stepping over small streams, twisting and turning their way through the rocky embankments, and occasionally stopping to reroute themselves with their half finished map, Kirito and Eugeo pressed ever onwards.

When Selka presented the map to them, scrounged up from some old text book found in the Church archives, they had both been severely grateful. Now, however, when they were actually out in the wilderness, Eugeo became apprehensive. Kirito, of course being the more reckless of the two, was confident that they could make it without a complete map, figuring it out as they went along. Eugeo remained skeptical. There had to be a way to either finish the map or find a complete copy in the next town, but that was a task that would have to wait for later. Besides, nothing was going to keep them from reaching Central City. They had to save Alice, and that was what they were going to do.

As the pair walked on, their mutual determination shining on their faces and strengthening with each stride, they smiled and laughed and teased and chatted until Solus’s rays were well below the horizon, painting the sky a combination of a lazy hue of periwinkle, orange and scarlet.

Crossing _yet another_ particularly rocky stream on a particularly rocky plateau, Kirito let out an exasperated sigh. Eugeo turned to see that his partner had in fact fell a little ways behind. _He’s probably not used to walking for so long_ , Eugeo assumed. _That’s right, I’m used to walking from doing supplies runs to and from other villages, plus he doesn’t know the mountain terrain of the Underworld just yet._ Eugeo waited for his friend to catch up before speaking.

“It’s getting dark, we should find camp for the night, don’t you think?” _I’ll save his pride just this once_ , Eugeo thought with a smile. Although, Eugeo’s generosity was wasted as Kirito remained an open book as usual regarding his emotions. Doubled over with one hand on a nearby boulder, Kirito looked up at Eugeo with a grateful, if not exhausted, smile.

“That would…be best..! I can’t believe how out of shape I am! We’ve… just been walking!” Kirito panted out every other word. His body ached in places he never even thought he had! Eugeo couldn’t help but chuckle at the pitiful sight.

“Yes, but for several hours and over terrain that I’m guessing you’re not used to.”

“I’ve never been an outdoorsy guy,” Kirito admitted, with a little more strength in his voice. “Although, I’ve had experience in the past…” Kirito trailed of, realizing his slip up, hoping that Eugeo didn’t notice..

Of course he did.

Eugeo’s eyes brightened. “In the past? Did you remember something about your time before you got here?” Kirito flinched at the blonde boy’s excited tone, and nervously laughed it off.

“What-?! N-no, no! I just…It’s just a feeling really.” Eugeo sighed, looking disappointed.

“Oh, I see. I’m sorry, Kirito, I thought we had something for a second there.” Kirito waved his hands, eager to cheer up the boy in front of him; he couldn’t fathom why he hated seeing Eugeo so disappointed for him. It almost made him feel guilty for lying. Almost.

“Hey, don’t sweat it! We’ll figure it out one day, we just gotta…keep moving. Maybe something on our journey will trigger something more concrete, like it did just now, you know?” Kirito smiled reassuringly at the young man across from him. Eugeo lifted his gazed and again couldn’t allow himself to wallow under such a smile, shinning brightly even in the dimming light of the evening. Catching himself staring a bit longer than necessary, Eugeo tore himself away.

“Ok. We’ll keep trying.” He turned back to Kirito with a smile of his own. “But first, let’s call it a night.” Kirito nodded once in agreement and then scanned the landscape for anything resembling shelter. Eventually his eyes landed on a small alcove carved into the side of short cliff face; the stream they were crossing ran parallel to the entrance a few feet away from where they were standing.

“Hey, see that?” Kirito called to Eugeo, eyes still trained on his find. “I bet we could sleep there. There’s no tunnel in the back so we’d only have to watch our front.” Eugeo silently praised Kirito’s good eye.

“Perfect. I’ll set up our sleeping bags; it isn’t a cold night so we won’t need the tents but we’ll still need a fire for cooking. Can you gather some stones to make a fire pit?” Kirito responded with a smile and a salute.

“Sure thing!” Kirito agreed, then he was off to find some stones that were suitable to make a ring around their designated campfire.

As boys split up to do their respective jobs, a sense of calm spread over them, mimicking that of the landscape. It was as though everything living and breathing on the mountain, including the mountains themselves, knew that daytime activities had ceased and they must prepare for the night’s quiet splendor.

After a few minutes, the bed rolls were laid out side by side under the lip of the alcove, with a rather small (“There weren’t any trees around, so I had to make do with these scraggly bushes!” Kirito had said showing his pitiful assortment of twigs) fire glowing against the dark backdrop. Eugeo had set up a boiling pot of water collected from the nearby stream on top of the cooking grate they had brought with them and added food rations to make a sort of stew. They waited in silence as their dinner warmed. Kirito had flopped down on his bed roll a few inches from Eugeo’s own with a tired but satisfied sigh. He sat in a relaxed way, one knee bend outwards from his body, the other leg stretched in front of him.

Eugeo took in the dark haired boy’s form beside him. He wondered what Kirito’s life possibly could have been like life before being found by him in the woods. What village did he belong to? Did he have a family? Stacia, he hoped not…Not in that way! But he hoped that they weren’t out there looking for him, scared and worried…Was this wrong taking Kirito with him? What if Kirito suddenly got his memory and wanted to turn back? He’d let him go of course; what right did he have to keep Kirito away from his loved ones, just so Eugeo could fulfill a promise he didn’t even know for sure that he could keep? Eugeo didn’t want to think about that, so he shook his head and busied himself with checking on dinner to break free of those troubling thoughts and stop daydreaming about his raven-hair friend.

It didn’t work.

He cursed his curious mind for wandering right back to Kirito, but let his thoughts win out against his better judgement. He was too tired from the days travels anyway. As he let himself get comfortable again on his bedroll, Eugeo’s ming went to Kirito’s fuzzy past. Did he have a calling back where he was from? Was it anything like Eugeo’s, doomed to do one menial task for the rest of his life? Eugeo scoffed at this; if so, he’d thank the Goddess Vecta everyday for stealing his memory of that. Yet, he also realized in that same breath, if it wasn’t for that task, he might’ve never found, let alone met Kirito. And he couldn’t not be grateful for that! In a way, the Gigas Cedar had brought them together, and he and Kirito already had a bond that was something precious to Eugeo, even if he couldn’t fully understand it. Eugeo raised his head to look at Kirito’s face….only to find that Kirito was staring right back at him.

Eugeo let out a surprised gasp. “W-What?! Why-? Uh...Sorry, I think I just zoned out.” He turned back to the floor, a bright pink staining his cheeks and ears for the second time that day. Kirito blinked then chuckled, little to Eugeo’s knowledge, hiding a bit of embarrassment for staring in kind.

“No worries…” The silence continued for a minute or two before the awkwardness had begun to drive Eugeo insane. He sighed, gathering himself, before remembering the thoughtful look on Kirito’s just moments before. He started slowly.

“Hey Kirito….What were you thinking about, you know, before..?” Kirito remained silent for a moment, giving Eugeo the impression that he maybe didn’t hear what he said. But then Kirito’s eyebrows furrowed in thought as he tilted his head to one side; his gaze didn’t leave the fire.

“You know, I actually don’t know too much about you, Eugeo! I mean, apart from knowing Selka and Alice…Who else were you close with back at the village? And what’s the rest of your family like? How many siblings do you have? Do you all live in Rulid?” Kirito had turned towards Eugeo at the last question, asking each one with a growing curiosity, laced with a newfound insistent energy.

Eugeo stumbled on his words for a minute. _Where did this come from?_ Eugeo was never one to reveal his personal life to rarely anyone. Alice was the only one who probably knew the more intimate details of his life, but everyone else got their information from either short conversations or from idle chitchat and gossip other people in the village said when he interacted with them.

And…he usually liked it that way. Being the shy, quiet bookworm he was, he often got blank stares or half-hearted smiles when other people his age tried to relate to whatever interested him at the moment, those often being faraway legends or encyclopedic research he happened to find in his late-night studies. A lot of the other young men his age were off to either hunt something down, whether it some great beast for family supper or whatever woman they were into at the time; or they followed in their parents footsteps, being traders and merchants, bringing in wealth for their families and not willing to exert any energy talking the lowly likes of a poor farm boy.

Again, he never felt the urge to put himself out there though, so why did this feel different? Maybe the loneliness of losing Alice was finally getting to him, or maybe the hunger was setting in and he just wanted to pass the time not thinking about his rumbling stomach. Either way, he wanted Kirito, specifically Kirito, to know who he was, to notice him, even if he was still figuring that part out for himself. Something told him that Eugeo could trust the boy next to him. Therefore, Eugeo made up his mind that he would answer; the questions were harmless, after all, and nothing he hasn’t not told anyone. However, no one ever asked him outright, especially not with this much…interest. It made Eugeo feel almost naked.

Realizing he had been quiet for a significant period of time after Kirito’s earnest inquiries, Eugeo’s voice came suddenly and surprised.

“O-Oh! Um…Why the sudden interest?” the blonde choked out. Kirito looked at him incredulously.

“You’re kidding right? We’re on this grand adventure together, at least let me know who I’m traveling with!” He gave Eugeo a lopsided smile. “Besides, I can’t really talk about myself since I don’t really know who I am and all that. So tell me about you! What was your life like before you met me?”

Eugeo matched his smile. “There’s not much to say about me really. At least, you know most of the important parts with Alice…” He lifted a finger to his chin, thinking where to begin. “Well, for starters, my family comes from a long line of farmers and traders. There’s my father and mother, my two older brothers, and my sister who’s married and lives in another village some ways away.” Eugeo paused and then smiled ruefully into the fire. “Truth be told, they don’t see much in me.”

Kirito perked up at this, and forced down the urge to interject. _How could they not see ‘much’ in you? You’ve been nothing but brave and skilled since I met you! Definitely meant to be more than a glorified wood cutter!_ …is what Kirito wanted to say, but he kept his gazed fixed on his flaxen-haired friend, waiting, with much difficulty, for him to continue.

Eugeo began again with a sigh. “They wanted me to become a farmer, like everyone else in my family; you see, I’m the youngest son, so I don’t have the chance to marry, that privilege belongs to the eldest son or daughter so they assumed I would be helping on the farm and in the trade. But when I got my calling for the Gigas Cedar, well…that only furthered their disappointment. Maybe that’s another reason why I agreed to join you on this quest; I want to prove to them that I’m not just…there.” The last part was said more to himself than to Kirito, who by now had a furrowed expression on his face, watching Eugeo closely. Trying not to worry Kirito, _Because of course he’s worried about me, not himself_ Kirito thought amusedly, Eugeo glanced over at him with a reassuring smile.

“Don’t worry, they were never cruel to me or anything! And I had Alice so I wasn’t always lonely. That’s when I also found my love for books; there’s so many things I want to see and learn for myself, so I’m really grateful to be here right now.” Eugeo turned his face back to the fire, casting a glow on his already golden hair and illuminating the resolve in his emerald green eyes. Kirito could almost feel warmer by just looking at him.

“Becoming an Integrity Knight will get both Alice back and raise my salary enough to support my family,” Eugeo explained rationally. “Then…then they’ll see that I’m not just the son who keeps disappointing them…I’ll be the son that they can count on.” Eugeo blinked, realizing what he had just said out loud and flushed violently. He quickly hugged his knees to his chest and chuckled awkwardly, trying to hide his embarrassment.

“Sorry! I didn’t mean to get so personal…” He hoped Kirito didn’t think he was _completely_ pathetic. But to Eugeo’s surprised, Kirito didn’t laugh or tease. If fact, he looked just as serious as he had at the beginning of their conversation.

“Eugeo,” Kirito said suddenly with a sureness to his voice that made Eugeo’s head snap to attention. The flaxen-haired boy turned to look his friend in the eyes. Kirito continued to speak without an ounce of doubt.

“You’re not a disappointment. You may have a little ways to go as a swordsmen, but there’s no doubt in my mind that you’re strong. Don’t ever cut yourself short. Your family is wrong to have overlooked you because you may well be the most special of them all already. You’ll become an Integrity Knight, that I have no doubts of. You’ll do what your heart is set out to do, and that’s a fact.”

It was safe to say Eugeo was stunned. Had he really only met Kirito a few weeks ago? Kirito was talking to him like he had known Eugeo a lifetime, and Eugeo was starting to feel as if there was definitely more to the boy next to him than he had surmised initially. Kirito was something special, too.

He had a kind heart.

Kirito then rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, resembling his normal, albeit rash, self. “Ehh..That is, I don’t really know the rest of your family, so who am I to say? Sorry, I got a bit carried away. I just don’t like seeing you being so hard on yourself when you’ve been nothing but caring to everyone else.”

This made Eugeo relax. He shook his head with a soft resignation, visibly touched by Kirito’s confidence in him. “You’re always so careless about the things you say…but they’re also always sincere, and I appreciate it.” Kirito returned Eugeo’s sentiment with a smile of his own. Then it turned into a sly smirk.

“So who needs a girlfriend with all those books, right?” Kirito couldn’t help but laugh at the surprised indignation that immediately took over Eugeo’s face.

“Kirito!”

Doubling over in his amusement, Kirito had no time to block the knapsack that came his way. “Hey!” he cried out, voice still laced with amusement.

“I’ll say it again: You are so immature!” Eugeo couldn’t help but laugh too at the absurdity of Kirito’s humor. While his joke had some truth to it, Eugeo wasn’t going to admit that that wasn’t the only reason he didn’t have a girlfriend.

But Kirito didn’t need to know that.

After the boys took turns throwing the empty knapsack at one another, they both soon realized that dinner was ready, judging by the faint aromas of herbs and salted meat. Kirito expressed his (very enthusiastic) gratitude at the fact that Eugeo remembered to bring some of his homemade honey pies for the start of their journey. (“It’ll give us the moral boost we need...and maybe a bit of energy for you to climb these cliffs faster!” Eugeo had teased. Kirito had dropped his head gloomily. “Ugh! Nothing will make those cliffs any easier…!”) They ate and talked about everything and nothing until their bellies were full and their eyelids heavy with sleep. As the boys settled into their respected sleeping arrangements, Kirito couldn’t help but notice that for the first time in a long while, he was excited to see where life would take him next.

The night’s stars were well established in the inky blackness before they succumbed to their anticipatory dreams of tomorrow.

**Author's Note:**

> Whew! That’s a long one! But I hope you enjoyed and there’s going to be a LOT more to come! Here are a few things I wanted to clarify just in case ;)  
> • The plot/storyline begins right after episode 4 of SAO: Alicization, ‘Departure’, so all events leading up to then are cannon in this fic  
> • I’ve got NO hate towards Asuna! I love that girl but I just feel like after that movie (Ordinal Scale) and showing how she is IRL in other parts of the series, she and Kirito just aren’t compatible anymore  
> • Primary ship is Kirito and Eugeo; its going to be a friends to lovers situation and a VERY slow burn ;)  
> Special thanks to Rhythmi and their work ‘The Night Sky” for inspiring me to write this fic.  
> See you all at the next chapter!


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